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128 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2019 ing six pillars to achieve operational effective- ness (Figure 1): 1. Data integrity 2. Visual factory 3. Right metrics 4. Change control 5. Process monitoring 6. Learning culture 1. Data Integrity Remember that decisions are made from data captured from your process. Get the data right! This sounds basic, but many organiza- tions fail to consistently retrieve accurate data from their manufacturing floor. Technological advancements in scanning, automated mea- surements, and inspection allow for accurate data collection. However, many manufacturing processes still require manual data entry data inputs into their ERP, MES, or paper logs in the production floor to capture process or product data. Make sure that you have configured your data collection system with the right instruc- tions and verification steps to ensure data is collected accurately. A best practice in a manu- facturing environment is to have visual guides or pictures that clearly describe a process con- dition or product defect with a reference code that can be used in your ERP or data collection system. Train your workforce to these visual references and establish a simple audit plan to verify data accuracy on a regular basis. At the end of the day, the credibility of your opera- tions starts with the confidence your team has in making decisions based on the right data. 2. Visual Factory The year was 2001, and I was a quality man- ager for a large PCB company in Arizona that had a 24/7 operation. The factory had a foot- print of 250,000 square feet and a workforce of 1,500 employees. The executive team was determined to transform the factory into a top performer in the industry, and one initia- tive was to reduce process variation by hav- ing visual work instructions. We had to con- vert over 300 technical procedures across the factory into practical visual work instructions. The effort required the involvement of over 50 employees from across the factory. The project resulted in higher product yields, fewer customer complaints, and high employee engagement and customers took notice. We became a preferred PCB supplier in the indus- try. Now, manufacturing companies have cost- effective options to create not only visual work instructions but also a complete visual factory with the use of electronic visual displays, tab- lets, smartphones, and customized software to support this initiative. The benefits of implementing an effective visual factory can be quantified. A software Figure 1: Operational excellence.